Why You Should Never Spray Perfume Near Your Groin
You may dab it on your neck or the insides of your wrists, but there are some places on the body where it's best never to spray perfume. The obvious answer may seem like the eyes, nose, or mouth, but there are other areas you may never have considered — specifically, the groin.
First off, DermNet breaks down five different categories of perfume products and how they can vary in their degrees of fragrance concentration. Parfum, otherwise known as extrait, can have fragrance concentrations as high as 30%. Meant to be used in moderation, parfum can leave its scent on us for anywhere from eight hours to a full day. Lasting roughly four to five hours, eau de parfum or parfum de toilet contains fragrance concentrations of about 15% to 20%. Alternatively, eau de toilette harbors a fragrance concentration of about 5% to 15%. The lowest level of fragrance concentration is eau de cologne, ranging from about 2% to 4%. Although these products can leave us smelling delightfully fruity, earthy, floral, and more, fragrance ingredients aren't always so friendly to our skin, particularly the more sensitive areas of the body. In fact, spritzing your genital area with perfume can both irritate and dry out the skin, reports Yahoo!Life.
How alcohol-based fragrance can irritate skin
Spraying perfume around one's genitals can cause pain, itching, inflammation, and general discomfort in the vagina due to its fragrance ingredients, reports Insider. While essential oils are often used to give off a perfume product's signature aroma (via DermNet), those aren't the only ingredients found in these scented sprays. Rather, a combination of essential oils and alcohol are often used, and different types of perfume can have higher or lower concentrations of alcohol than others. Subsequently, urologist Jennifer Berman of Brentwood, California tells Cosmopolitan that alcohol-based fragrances can further dry out the skin and that it's generally best to stick to alcohol-free products.
Similarly, results of a survey issued by Dollar Shave Club revealed that 5% of men choose to spray cologne below the belt in order to keep themselves smelling fresh. However, health experts advise against this. "I don't recommend spraying it on the penis," dermatologist Anthony Rossi told the company, also citing alcohol concentration as the primary reason. "Cologne is not necessarily harmful, but it can be irritating because of the alcohol content." Instead, Rossi suggests keeping the genital area fresh and clean through routine washing with water and mild soap, keeping the area dry, and remembering to regularly change one's underpants.